Here are two catalog search features that you might find useful- Subjects and Tags.
When you click on a title in the catalog, the “Details” page is shown. Midway down on that page, you will find a heading: Subjects. Listed underneath are blue active links. For example, on the Details page of the book The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo, the following active links are listed:
Subjects
Puppets -- Juvenile fiction.
Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.
Secrecy -- Juvenile fiction.
Identity (Psychology) -- Juvenile fiction.
Belonging (Social psychology) -- Juvenile fiction.
Imaginary places -- Juvenile fiction.
Clicking these links will take you to related titles in that subject area. Some titles have multiple subject links, while others may have only one. Subjects are created when a title is added to the catalog.
Tags can be found at the bottom of the Details Page. For example, on the Details page of the book Pirasaurs! by Josh Funk, the following active links are listed under the heading Tags:
Tags
#roamandroar
#rooaarrr!
#dinosaurfun
#talesofdinosaurs
#ahoymatey
#dinovember
#pirateparade
There are many tags to choose from. Are you looking for more books about dinosaurs? Or more books about pirates? Some titles have multiple hashtags, while other titles have none.
Tags are added to individual titles in the catalog by library staff to help patrons find books about different topics. Each week, Storytime at the library has a different theme. Tags are created for each theme to help families find more titles to explore. For example, a recent Storytime theme was Life In The City. You can search #citylife in the catalog and find lots of picture books on this theme. Other library programs also add tags to books that are relevant to their subjects. Check out #storybuilders or #kidsteam
For more tips and in-depth exploration of the catalog, watch this video series created by library staff. https://www.handleyregional.org/exploringthelibrary